Bruises
by jon1305
Summary: A short story about brothers learning a little more about themselves.


**Bruises**

Dark clouds moved in over the hills of Emelka promising a much-sought rainfall to the folk living in the small country town. For the past two months, the town had been plagued by heat pushing into the record-breaking triple digits. Due to the heat, farmers had to work twice as hard making sure their crops were well watered and tended. With a constant uphill battle with mother nature, the townsfolk were all too pleased to hear the news of rain forecasted in the near future. These clouds promised two things to the people: a day without the stress of making sure their crops had the proper nutrients, and the hope that this storm would push out a bulk of this disgusting heat.

The clouds had already started their approach over the hills, blocking out the Four-o-clock sun. With the townsfolk eagerly preparing their houses for the rain, the local inn had started closing up their outdoor patio seating. Storing away umbrellas and stacking chairs against the outside shed, a pair of boys about nineteen years of age could be seen busily moving about, making sure everything was in order.

One of the boys was wearing a hand-knitted blue hat with a hood that swayed in the breeze as he rushed to make sure things were securely in place, unsure of how bad this storm was going to be. The other boy was a pale-skinned dragon, marked with blue lines across various parts of his body. He was having no trouble carrying multiple tables across the yard towards the shed.

"I think that's everything, Ad," the blue-hatted boy called out as he locked up the wooden doors to the shed. "I hope it's going to be a huge storm. I'm done with this heat."

Adamai shrugged saying "Don't get your hopes up too much. It doesn't feel like it is going to be big. It looks like everyone is overreacting. I guess no one knows how to swim. It looks like you're not alone, eh Yugo?" Ad said smiling at his brother, nudging him with his elbow.

Yugo started looking a bit embarrassed, holding up his hands. "Quiet down. I don't want the whole town to hear you. It's not my fault I never learned… With dad and the inn, we didn't really have time to make it to the beach," Yugo said staring at his feet.

Adamai chuckled a little bit before holding his brother in a hug. "It's okay bro. Your secret is safe with me." Adamai held out his hand, feeling a few drops falling from the sky. "We should get inside before this picks up. Still have to close the shutters upstairs." Yugo nodded as they both made their way inside.

The clouds started giving their gift to the town, wetting the grassy hills with a much-needed rain and giving the area a soft grey gloomy shadow. The trees rustled slightly as raindrops dances across their leaves and branches. With Autumn only two months away, as long as these storms came regularly, the people of the valley could expect a beautiful change in color to follow. The main cobbled road into town had started to become muddy as a group of children hurried to get home. This rain did not wait for school to get out to start its downpour, soaking a few of the students on their travels back home from the schoolhouse.

Among the crowd of kids running by, two small boys took their time walking home. Going as a slower pace, their clothes had already started to soak. They both looked to be about eight years of age. One of the boys wore a hand-knitted brown had that started to become heavy as it soaked up water. The other boy traveling with him wore a brown hooded cape to hide his darker skin from the rain.

The hooded boy was a dragon similar to Adamai, except for his skin being a darker brown, and his body adorned with white markings. The dragon smugly spoke "I told you to bring a cover. Now you're going to get all wet Chibi."

Chibi had crossed his arms, staring at the ground with a slightly saddened look. "I don't care," he said plainly.

The dragon boy snorted. "Well, I don't plan on getting sick. I'll see you at home slowpoke!" He took off towards the hilltop inn without waiting for his brother's response.

"Whatever Grougal…" Chibi mumbled to himself as he continued taking his time walking home. His gaze never left the ground as a few tears started to form in his eyes.

Inside the inn, Yugo had started sweeping the dining room as Adamai flipped the chairs on top of the table. They had planned on closing for the storm, figuring how no customers were going to come out in the rain just for some food. Nearly finishing up, they saw a large figure come out of the kitchen holding a dish rag.

The man moved over and placed a hand on top of Adamai's head, patting it softly. "Thank you boys for helping out. Feel free to have the rest of the night off. I don't suspect we will get any business tonight with this storm anyways."

"Thanks dad," Adamai said smiling up at the man.

The man had walked over to the door, flipping the sign to saying 'Closed' before turning to the blue-hatted boy. "Yugo, could you lay out some towels for the boys? They should be coming home soon, and I wouldn't want them tracking mud all over your clean floors."

Yugo nodded and ran off towards the linen closet down the hall. He returned shortly, his arms filled with fresh towels. Right as he placed them by the front, the door swung open. Grougal stepped out of his shoes by the door, and placed his hood on the wall hook. Thanking Yugo, he took a towel offered by his older brother. Thanks to the hood, Grougal was barely wet at all.

The man had noticed his son, and looking around, wondered where his fourth might me. "Grougal, where is Chibi?"

"He's being a slowpoke and wanted to walk home. He's been kind of weird lately," the boy said from under the towel.

"And you didn't stay with him? Why did you run off ahead?" Alibert asked slightly puzzled.

Grougal shrugged. "I don't know. If he wanted to be weird, I didn't want to get all wet. So I told him I was going to run home."

Alibert looked a little worried. "Grougal, make sure you're dried off, then you can go play with Yugo and Adamai."

"Yeah Grougal, we can continue our board game from last night. I still think I have Adamai on the ropes," Yugo said smiling.

Adamai smirked evilly. "You wish. You are SO going down!" The two boys ran off towards the stairs, shortly followed by Grougal, who threw his towel into a nearby basket.

Alibert decided to sit by the door and wait for Chibi to come home. He could hear the rain start to pick up slightly harder, and heard a light rumble to thunder in the distance. Looking over to the wall clock which read twenty past four, he noticed how the two younger kids would be coming home in about five minutes under normal weather conditions. Alibert was going to give him ten more minutes before looking for him; making sure Chibi hadn't got stuck in some mud, or tripped on the wet grass.

Alibert remembered raising Yugo in how whenever the child would get hurt, he seemed to be unfazed by it; shaking it off and continuing whatever game he was playing. It was as if Yugo was made of stone. Chibi however was different. He was much softer, and cried more often than Yugo did at his age. Alibert couldn't guess why Chibi was so different, but that didn't stop Alibert from being just as gentle around the younger child.

Chibi also was raised alongside his dragon brother, whereas Yugo didn't even meet his until he was twelve. It took a bit for Alibert to get used to living with a dragon; however, Adamai was willing to learn the way to properly act in a house full of very breakable things. Ad was willing to change so he could live with his new brother. Spending the first portion of his life mostly alone on Oma island, Adamai didn't want to have to go back there after dealing with Nox.

Grougal was a much different story. Ever since he hatched, he seemed to test every single rule there was; along with the multiple levels of patience that Alibert had. At times, Alibert had to put his foot down on so many different rules that he had to ask Yugo and Adamai to help look after the younger dragon. He was almost too much for Alibert to handle. Thankfully Chibi was the opposite, and he had Yugo and Ad to help him. Sometimes Alibert would ask himself if there was a reason why Adamai was raised on Oma for the first twelve years, and if that was an option for Grougal.

As he was distracted with his thoughts, Alibert jumped back to reality to the sound of the front door opening and closing. Inside stepped a soaked little boy, keeping his gaze down. He didn't notice Alibert sitting by the closest table, and jumped when he heard his named called out.

"Chibi, you're absolutely soaked. Here, use these to dry off before you get sick," Alibert said covering his son with a towel. Removing his son's hat and hanging it on a nearby hook, he put another towel on top of Chibi's head and started to help dry his dark-brown hair.

Chibi stood there wrapped up and let his father dry him off. There was silence between the two of them for a few moments while Alibert rubbed Chibi's head with the towel.

Alibert kneeled down and hugged his son. "You're soaked through. Let's get those clothes off, and get you some dry clothes." Alibert tried removing his son's shirt before Chibi backed away.

Chibi held his shirt down shaking his head slightly. "It's okay papa. I-I can do it myself…" he said before trying to make his way through the dining room.

"Chibi, I don't want you tracking mud and water across the clean floor. Please change here so I can dry off your soaked stuff," Alibert said slightly puzzled at his son's reaction. Chibi usually loved undressing whenever he got the chance. It had become a problem only once when Chibi tried running downstairs after bath time.

"N-no papa. I don't want to," Chibi said lightly, still holding his shirt down, averting his gaze.

Alibert was confused as to his son's unusual behavior. He placed a hand on Chibi's shoulder and looked into the boy's eyes. From a distance, he couldn't tell. But looking in front of him, Alibert could tell how Chibi's eyes were slightly puffy and reddened; the usual signs of crying. "Chibi, please tell me what's wrong. Something it up, and it must be big enough to get you so down."

Chibi's lip quivered a bit before pulling his head back and turning away from Alibert. "It's nothing."

"Then show me this 'nothing'" Alibert probed, visions of multiple problems spun in his head; everything from simple things like Chibi problems with Math class to the much more severe all gave Alibert's heart reason to start beating fast.

There was a slight pause before Chibi turned around towards his father. "Please don't get mad…" he said lightly.

Alibert smiled at his son and said "I could never be mad at you. I just get worried about things, like when you don't let me know what is making you so sad."

Chibi nodded and put his little arms straight up, allowing his father to remove the soaked fabric. Alibert struggled slightly as he fought the stubborn shirt that clung to the smaller boy's body. Once his chest was exposed, Alibert's eyed darted to the darker-purple spots along Chibi's upper arms, and chest. The smile had faded instantly from Alibert's face as he scanned his son for more dark spots. There were a few on the upper part of his back, all relatively the same size. Some of the spots were lighter than others, indicating that they happened at different times.

With his father's smile replaced with a horrified look, Chibi started to worry that something was seriously wrong. He stood there a moment, and let his father get a good look at his scars before trying to speak up. "Papa…?"

Alibert put Chibi's arms down, wrapped him up in a towel, and picked him up in a hug. Without a word, Alibert carried his son through the dining room, up the stairs, and into the master bedroom on the left side of the hall. After placing the child on the foot of the large bed, Alibert turned around and shut the door, locking it.

Chibi started to whine slightly, knowing something was wrong. He tried speaking up again. "Pap-?" but was cut off when Alibert knelt in front of the child, placing his hand on Chibi's knee.

Alibert stared into Chibi's eyes, and tried to convey how serious he meant his words. Not caring that the boy's pants were starting to soak the blanket, Alibert spoke very flatly and clearly. "Chibi, I need you to be a big boy, and tell me where these came from. What happened, and who gave you these bruises?"

"It's nothing pa-"Chibi tried speaking again, but was cut off.

"No Chibi. This isn't nothing. This is very serious, and could be extremely bad. I need you to tell me who it was." Alibert kept his tone flat and his gaze locked onto his son's eyes.

Chibi averted his eyes, looking at the bed. He opened his mouth to speak, but closed it shortly after. He pulled his knees up to his chest, and hugged his own legs staring off to the side.

Alibert put his hand on Chibi's arm. "Come on, was it someone as school?"

Chibi shook his head. He wasn't going to get a definite answer out of Chibi, then Alibert would just have to ask one hundred questions. He wasn't going to leave this room until he knew who was causing physical and emotional pain to his youngest son.

"Okay, so it was someone here in town… was it a girl," Alibert guessed.

Chibi responded with another shake.

"Okay then. So it was a boy in town. Was he being mean? Did he attack you?" Alibert felt a lump in his throat as the words escaped. He couldn't bear the thought of someone jumping at Chibi; not just once, but what looked like daily for the past week.

After not responding one way or another, Chibi just simply sniffled. He could feel tears starting to swell up in his eyes.

"Oh Chibi, it would be so much better if you just told me who did this. It might hurt now, but it feels better getting this off your chest. You shouldn't try to hide the person who would hurt you like this. Please…" Alibert leaned in, hugging his son tightly.

Chibi closed his eyes, and started to cry into Alibert's chest.

"Shhh, that's a good boy. Just let it out." Alibert said running his hand up and down his son's bare back, trying not to put pressure on the bruises.

After a few moments of crying, Chibi tried speaking between sobs. "You p-promise not to g-get… mad?"

Alibert continued rubbing Chibi's back. "I promise I won't get mad. Just take some deep breaths."

Chibi took some deep breaths, calming him down enough to be coherent before muttering a name into Alibert's chest.

Alibert froze for a moment, unsure of whether or not he just heard his son correctly. He leaned back and looked Chibi in the eyes again. "What was that?"

"I-it was Grougal…" Chibi said before closing his eyes, readying himself for some fit of anger to come from his father.

Alibert's jaw dropped, along with his gaze. He stared at the carpet, trying to process this new information. He froze up, wondering if he heard what he thought he had heard.

After a few moments of silence, Chibi opened his eyes to see his father at a loss for words. "I'm sure he didn't mean it. He's my brother, and I know he loves me, but…"he tried explaining as best as he could.

Alibert turned to his son, but did not speak, wanting him to explain more.

Chibi gulped hard before continuing. "We've been playing around outside, and he's getting better. When we wrestle, it used to be fine. But now Grougal is getting stronger, and it's starting to hurt some."

Alibert rubbed his eyes to deter any tears of his own. "And did you tell him this?"

Chibi nodded. "I tried telling him when he'd hurt me, but he would just laugh at me, calling me a 'baby' and a 'weakling'."

Alibert stood up and walked towards the door. Chibi tried speaking up to stop him from leaving, but Alibert held up his pointer finger before unlocking and opening the door. He leaned his head out into the hallway and bellowed out "Yugo, Adamai, could you two please come here?"

A few moments passed before the sounds of footsteps followed towards the door. The two boys walked into their father's room, and saw Chibi sitting on the bed, wrapped in a towel. Alibert closed the door behind them, and asked them to take a seat near the bed.

Adamai and Yugo both sat cross-legged on the floor, staring at the two of them. Alibert looked at the two older boys, then to Chibi, and nodded. Chibi took a moment to guess what that meant, but took the towel off, showing his older brothers his scars.

Yugo and Adamai both stood up, fists clenched and nostrils flaring. "Who did this?! They'll pay for-"Adamai started to rant before being silenced by his dad.

"It was Grougal who did this. He has been too rough for too long with Chibi when they've been playing, and doesn't stop when he says it's starting to hurt. Yugo, I need you to take Chibi down the hall, run a warm bath, and help get him cleaned up. And Adamai, I need you to take Grougal aside, and have a serious talk with him about being too feral around others. Can you two do that for me?" Alibert said sternly.

The two older boys nod. Yugo walks over to Chibi, cradles him as he carries him down the hall. A small wet butt imprint is left on a portion of the blanket. Alibert picks up the towel, and walks towards the kitchen to prepare supper. Adamai goes back to the play room where Grougal is sitting, waiting for his brothers to return to their board game. Adamai closes the door, locking it, and sits next to Grougal on the floor.

"Ad, what's going on?" Grougal asks confused.

Adamai takes in a deep breath, and slowly exhales before speaking. "Grougal, do you know what being a dragon means?"

Unsure of what his older brother is getting at, Grougal responds with an "Umm…"

Adamai speaks up, not letting him answer. "It means you're going to be bigger, grow faster, and become stronger than others around you. Since you were little, you've always been stubborn; more so than I was when I was your age. But a big part of growing up doesn't mean you get to do what you want. You can't go controlling others because they are weaker or smaller than you."

Grougal took a moment, trying to understand what Adamai meant by that.

Getting the hint that Grougal was lost, Adamai clarified. "I'm talking about Chibi. He's much smaller, and softer than you. And even though you're the same age, he still looks up to you as his older brother. That doesn't mean you get to act nasty towards him."

Grougal scoffed, folding his arms. "What did that tattletale tell you?"

Adamai spoke up, his voice echoing slightly throughout the room. "This isn't a game Grougal! You're actively hurting your brother to the point of bruising him. That is not okay, in any way!"

Grougal frowned, turning away from his older brother.

"I told you the story of how I grew up on an island? Oma Island? While I was the only one there for the most of the time, I was free to do what I wanted as far as my strength. But I had no idea how to act around humans. When I first met Yugo, I nearly crushed him with a crackler, as a kind of game. I later learned that humans are much more fragile than dragons are. They aren't built as strong as us physically, so we have to learn to respect that difference. I learned how not to break my brother by listening to him when he said what was too much."

"But I don't hit him that hard!" Grougal tried to rebuttal.

"And how to you know that?" Adamai stated flatly. "You have no idea how much too much actually is. Because, Grougal… You, like every dragon I know, are too stubborn to look beyond your own snout, and see that there is more than just your point of view. When someone says you hurt them, you don't get to say you didn't!"

Grougal put his arms to his side, staring at the floor. His pointed ears laid flat against his head. "I don't see why he had to go and tell on me."

Adamai raised his voice loudly. "Grougaloragran! You don't get to play the victim! You're hurting your brother, causing him pain and bruises that he's kept to himself until now, and all you want to do is blame him for talking to someone who actually listens to him. I learned how to be a dragon around others so I wouldn't have to live on that island after finding my brother. I did all I could to make sure we could live together: helped out around the inn, looked after you two, even tended to the animals in town. But if you're too stubborn to try and learn a way to not be a bully to your closest brother, then maybe we need to go live on Oma for a few years; at least until you can learn that it's not okay to push around others."

Adamai calmed down a bit, letting Grougal speak for himself. A few minutes go by before Adamai can hear sniffling. Grougal turns to Ad, tears running down his face, and dives his head into his brother's chest in a hug. "I don't mean to be so mean. I just thought I could teach him how to be stronger," Grougal chokes out between sobs.

Adamai sighed, feeling relieved at how he wasn't called out for his bluff of moving back to Oma. Adamai hated that place after seeing so much of the world. Plus his last memory of Oma was Nox, and even with the time lord defeated, the thought of returning to a grave sickened him. Adamai smiled, patting his younger brother's long brown hair.

After a couple of minutes allowing Grougal to cry into him, Adamai could feel the younger dragon beginning to calm down. "There's still something you need to do."

Grougal sniffled, staring up at Adamai. His face had tears all down his cheeks, and his eyes were reddened. It wasn't very often that Ad got to see his dragon-brother cry. It took a lot to get him to that point. He was just glad that this didn't evolve into Grougal going into a rage.

Adamai stood up, holding his younger brother's hand, and walked towards the door. Unlocking it, he opened the door, and made his way to their room, pulling Grougal in tow. When they got there, he could see Chibi putting on some warm pajamas, as Yugo threw his wet clothes into the hamper.

Adamai led Grougal in the room, and stood leaning against the door. Yugo noticed Grougal walking towards the bed, and moved out of the way. Grougal started running up to his 'younger' brother and covered him in a hug.

"I'm so sorry for being so mean Chibi. I'm so sorry." Grougal started sniffling again.

Chibi had smiled for the first time in the past few days, hugging his brother in return. "That's okay, bro. I know you love me, and I love you too."

The older boys stood back and watched as their younger brothers shared a close moment together. The rain had picked up outside, along with some rolling thunder. With the family safely inside, they all spent the rest of the day in the dining room, playing their board game together by the fireplace.

Author's Note:

Another great story after another annoyingly long pause. I am going through things in my personal life that has drained all of my free time. I am unsure of the coming months, but I will try and get in a few more stories before the close of the year. With the holiday season coming up, I might very well get inspired to write up something small like this.

Thanks to those who I sent this story prompt to before writing. You two are the reason that I decided to give myself this writing exercise.

A few moments in this story were inspired by personal experiences, and quotes on the subject.

Story written be me, Characters and setting belong to Ankama.


End file.
